March 15, 2007

CEDAR RAPIDS, IOWA . . . Three Iowa Intercollegiate Athletic Conference (IIAC) fall sport student-athletes were among the 58 recipients of NCAA Postgraduate Scholarships awarded to all student-athletes in all three NCAA divisions.

Cross country runners Kevin Balster (Monticello, Iowa/Monticello) of Wartburg College and Adam Bohach (Spillville, Iowa/South Winneshiek) of Luther College were among the 29 male student-athletes to receive the prestigious scholarship, including 17 from NCAA Division III. Volleyball player Tiffany Everding (Tripoli, Iowa/Tripoli) of Simpson College was among 29 female recipients, including nine from Division III.

To be eligible for an NCAA Postgraduate scholarship, a student-athlete must, in their final year of eligibility, have performed with distinction as members of varsity teams in the sport for which they were nominated. Nominees must have a minimum grade-point average of 3.2 (based on a 4.0 scale), be nominated by the faculty athletics representative or designee, and intend to continue academic work beyond the baccalaureate degree as a part-time or full-time graduate student.

Balster, a mathematics and mathematics education double-major, finished 13th at the Iowa Conference cross country Championship and 59th at the Central Region Championship leading Wartburg to second and third-place finishes in the respective Meets. He is a three-time Academic All-Iowa Conference honoree and was named to the ESPN The Magazine Academic All-America® track and field/cross country team last year.

Bohach, a biology major, finished fourth at the Iowa Conference Championship, fifth at the Central Region Championship and earned All-American honors by finishing 30th at the National Championship leading Luther to the Iowa Conference title, a second-place regional finish and sixth-place national finish. He is a three-time Academic All-Iowa Conference honoree.

Everding, a psychology and sociology double-major, was the Iowa Conference volleyball Most Valuable Player, leading Simpson to its first Conference title since 1994 and its first NCAA Tournament berth since 1997. A three-time Academic All-Iowa Conference honoree, she was a First Team ESPN The Magazine Academic All-District VII selection in the fall.

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